Whoever dreamt up

these spatial proportions

imposed limits /

This room could have soared

as migrations:

winter swoops and dives

passing over rooftops

pitched toward cloud-streaked sky

Or, taken the other way—

sketched, gone cold in your bones,

the nothingness before explosions.

Stars eroding in the atmosphere

invites speculation.

No one leaves their bed early.

Susan Isla Tepper grew up within walking distance to Walt Whitman’s House.  She has authored twelve books of poetry and fiction, the most recent a Novel titled Hair of a Fallen Angel from Spuyten Duyvil, NYC.